NEWS

Salt Lake City, UT; April 30, 2019: There are five weeks remaining in the regular season and only four teams will qualify for the 2019 Major League Rugby Championship Series. What better time for Week 14 Player of the Week Dan Moor to seize the moment and lead sixth-placed Toronto Arrows to a crucial 29-7 victory over the Seattle Seawolves in third, scoring one try and carrying for 172 meters to lift his side within four points of the playoffs. The Utah Warriors secured the Week 14 Team of the Week award with their second win of the season over Austin Elite, winger Fetu’u Vainikolo reminding the world why he’s on top of Tonga’s all-time try-scoring charts with a smart duo of tries.

In front of a season-high 3,104 fans at Zions Bank Stadium, Utah sprinted to a 7-0 lead three minutes in. Warriors captain Tim O’Malley slashed through the Elite defense with a bruising inside run, then flicked the ball to a supporting Vainikolo who ran 40 meters before carrying two defenders over the try-line. Austin Elite responded with two scores, but the hosts regained the lead in the 26th minute with a James Semple try. In the second half, the Warriors’ defense suffocated the Austin attack. Vanikolo scored MLR’s Try of the Week, and his second of the game, in the 78th minute, bucking five defenders in a galloping 30-meter try and drawing a “How on Earth did you do that?” from the television announcers. The Tongan wing was one of four different players to record a try in the Warriors’ bonus-point victory.

Moor, the 6-foot, 220-lb Canadian international made a scintillating break from inside his own half to effectively put the Arrows out of the Seawolves’ reach with ten minutes to play. With Toronto up 15-7, a Cole Keith intercept led to a series of Arrow passes that ended in Moor’s hands, before the winger burst through the Seawall for a glorious 65-meter try. The Arrows skipper finished the game with 19 carries, a 2019 MLR single-game record. Moor is the second Toronto Arrows player to earn a Player of the Week Award, following Mike Sheppard from Week 10 this season.

MLR’s First XV of Week 14

Loosehead Prop (No. 1), Rob Brouwer, Toronto Arrows

Hooker (No. 2), Dylan Fawsitt, Rugby United New York

Tighthead Prop (No. 3), Marco Fepulea’i, Glendale Raptors

Lock (No. 4), Mike Sheppard, Toronto Arrows

Lock (No. 5), Keri Nasoqeque, San Diego Legion

Blindside Flanker (No. 6), Brad Tucker, Seattle Seawolves

Openside Flanker (No. 7), Arawa Elkington, Utah Warriors

No. 8, Marcello Wainwright, Toronto Arrows

Scrum-half (No. 9), Nate Augspurger, San Diego Legion

Fly-half (No. 10), Joe Pietersen, San Diego Legion

Wing (No. 11), Dan Moor, Toronto Arrows

Inside Center (No. 12), Chad London, Glendale Raptors

Outside Center (No. 13), Roland Suniula, Seattle Seawolves

Wing (No. 14), Deion Mikesell, Houston SaberCats

Fullback (No. 15), Mike Te’o, San Diego Legion

ABOUT MLR

MLR is a professional rugby league launched in April of 2018. It’s an initiative of the North American rugby community, in partnership with private investors, who believe that North American rugby can thrive at the highest levels: as a commercial enterprise; as an influential player on the international scene; and as a participation sport at the youth and senior level. MLR will be the pinnacle of North American rugby, and provide a rallying point for local communities, a focal point for North American rugby fans, and an aspirational destination for young athletes. There are already over 40 internationals and players from more than 15 countries playing in the MLR. Twenty-two MLR stars represented the USA Eagles and Canada national teams in the opening round of the 2019 Americas Rugby Championship, with more than 30 called up over the course of the tournament.

The teams competing in MLR Season 2 are Austin Elite, Glendale Raptors, Houston SaberCats, New Orleans Gold, San Diego Legion, Seattle Seawolves, Utah Warriors plus new additions Rugby United New York and Toronto Arrows. In 2020, New England Free Jacks, Old Glory DC and Rugby ATL will bring the total to 12 teams for MLR Season 3.